Death By Love
by xox.Dynamite.xox
Summary: Sakura just finished working in the hospital when she sees a wounded person close to death. Not knowing what to do, she brings him home.It's only when she reaches the warmth of her house is when she realizes who exactly she just brought home. [GaaSaku]
1. Finding Him

Death By Love

* * *

Sakura walked briskly out the front doors of Konoha Hospital. She had just finished working, and wanted desperately to sleep. Tsunade had a habit of giving her the hardest work there is in a hospital. 

She walked down the pathway and idly looked over at a bench that she had seen too many times to count. That certain bench held memories that she wished she could forget.

That bench was the same bench Sasuke had tossed her on before he left the village. That was 4 years ago. She sometimes wondered if she ever loved him in the first place.

She had long realized that Sasuke would probably never return to the village. His mind was set on avenging his clan, and will forever remain that way.

Sakura started to walk faster. It was getting pretty cold and she didn't have anything to help shelter her from the wind. It was then that she saw something in the corner of her eye. It was lying down on the forest floor. Unmoving. _It's probably just an animal…_Sakura thought.

She shook her head and began walking again. But she couldn't help herself; she turned her head just to look once more at it. At second glance, Sakura could clearly see that it was _not _an animal.

Sakura approached it for a closer look. She couldn't make out what exactly she was looking at until she was standing just in front of it.

_Holy crap…_Sakura thought as she clearly saw what she thought was an "animal". It was actually a human. A man to be exact. Because it was so dark out, Sakura couldn't identify who exactly this man was. But she identified something else. Blood.

It was all over him and the forest ground around him. He was badly injured and was deathly pale. Sakura's mind raced. _Is he dead? Who did this to him? Is the person still here? _Sakura took a kunai out and looked around. She found no one.

She looked back at the man in front of her and checked for a pulse. Yes, he was still alive. _Now what should I do? _Sakura thought.

She could, 1) Carry him to the hospital she had just left from, 2) Carry him home, or 3) Leave him to die. She chose to do number 2. She was a lot closer to home than she was to the hospital, and she couldn't live with herself knowing she could have helped saved a life but instead, left them to die.

Sakura picked up the man as fast as she could and used chakra on the soles of her feet to move faster. He was a lot heavier than she thought he would be.

It was only when she stepped into the light of her house that she realized who the man was...

It was Gaara.

* * *

Disclaimer - I Do Not Own Naruto!! 

Next chapter will be up when it will be up!


	2. Dirt In His Hair

Death By Love

* * *

Gaara was in her house. _Her_ house. 

_How did this happen to him?_ She thought as she rushed into her house, carrying him._ Didn't he have sand protecting him? _

Shukaku was still inside of Gaara and there were some rumors going around that he would be Kaze kage in about a year.

She placed Gaara on the living room floor and took out a kunai to cut open Gaara's shirt to inspect his wounds.

She gasped at what she saw. There were multiple cuts across Gaara's chest, it looked like someone was playing tic tac toe with a kunai there.

Sakura healed those ones first, and then turned him over on his stomach to check if there was more. There was. A large gash was across Gaara's back.

It was enough to make even a medic nin flinch. She immediately began pouring her chakra into the wound. She watched as it began to heal up, but not completely.

She panted slightly. She was beginning to get tired. She bandaged him up and moved him into the guest room.

She placed him on the bed and sat across from him. _What happened to you?_ She thought as she gazed at the red kanji above his right eye.

_I'll tell Tsunade that you're here in the morning…they'll probably take better care of you than me. _

It was hard to believe that he had just escaped death. The way he lay there, looking so…peaceful.

Sakura didn't realize that she had fallen asleep until she heard a BEEP BEEP kind of noise. She opened her eyes and glanced at her clock. It was 7:55.

Sakura jumped up and scrambled around looking for clothes. She started work at 8:00, and she couldn't be late.

''I've got to hurry!'' She thought aloud. "It won't be long until I-''

WHAM WHAM was heard from the door. _Great…Ino's here_…She thought bitterly.

Every morning, Ino and Sakura would walk to the flower shop where Ino worked, and then Sakura would walk the rest of the way to the Hospital.

But today, Sakura wasn't ready. And there was another problem, Gaara. _I was supposed to bring him to Tsunade today, but I can't now. It's way to late. _

Sakura grabbed her handbag and opened her front door to an angry looking Ino. "What took you so long?!" Ino screeched. "Sorry." Was all Sakura had to say as she walked out of the front door.

* * *

Sakura was physically at the Hospital. But, mentally was somewhere else. She was constantly thinking about Gaara.

_What if he woke up? What if he's outside right now on a killing spree? What if I didn't heal him properly last night and is bleeding to death? _The "what if's" were on going.

And today just had to be the day that the janitor didn't show up to work, and left Sakura to do _his _job.

Sakura was more than happy when 6:00 rolled around. It was time for her to leave. She calmly walked over to Tsunade's office and said, "I'm leaving." 

She wasn't sure if Tsunade had even heard her, but frankly, she didn't care.

She all but ran home and threw open her front door almost ripping it off it's hinges. _  
_  
She fast walked into the guest room only to find him lying in the same position she had left him in. She sighed. He was _fine._

"All that worrying for nothing." Sakura said to herself. She kneeled in front of him and noticed a few pieces of dirt in his hair.

She brushed the dirt out, and while doing so, noticed how weird his hair felt in her fingers.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open.

* * *

Disclaimer - I Do Not Own Naruto!! 

How do you think this chapter was?


	3. Helping Him

Death By Love

* * *

  
**embarrassment**_ - _[em-bear-uhs-muhnt n.  
_1) the state of being embarrassed;__disconcertment; abashment.  
2) __The shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public_

**scared** – [skair n,v  
_1) A condition or sensation of sudden fear._   
_2) A general state of alarm; a panic._

Sakura felt those two emotions running through her as she stared down at Gaara's now open eyes. She would have never thought that he would wake up just by the touch of her hand.

So there she was, with her fingers tangled up in the red head's hair, too scared and embarrassed to move, as he glared up at her.

She expected to hear the sound of sand rising up. She expected to feel the sand wrap around her in a sand coffin. She expected to see his face twist into a psychotic look of blood lust.

Instead, he simply said. "Can you remove your hand?"

His voice sounded dry and raspy. But Sakura removed it fast enough. "I-I'm sorry." Sakura stuttered.

She couldn't bare look at him now. Instead, she focused on a small crack on one of her tiles. She felt herself getting hot. She could just picture herself looking like a tomato right now. Sakura was so into thinking about how ridiculous she must have looked then that when she heard a strange sound, her heard whipped around to see Gaara trying to get up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sakura asked, snapping back into reality. "Getting up." The red head mumbled.

"No, you're not." Sakura argued, "I found your half dead body in the forest, you have to wait until your wounds heal before you think about going anywhere."

Gaara was now sitting up in the bed, giving Sakura his famous "death glare".

"Listen, I've got somewhere to go, I don't have time to sit around and play doctor with you."

Now Sakura was pissed. Was he calling her…useless? And to think that she had just saved his LIFE! How ungrateful can you get? She wasn't just going to let him tell her off like that! "I can't believe you!" She shouted, "Maybe I shouldn't have wasted my time on **you**! I should have let you rot!"

Then, Sakura proceeded to walk right up to the future Kazekage to yell at him some more, but lost her footing and fell over…right on top of him.

**BAM!**

In the last two seconds of her fall, she was able to stop herself somewhat from falling onto him completely. But she still fell on him pretty hard.

She noticed a red liquid forming itself onto the sheets of her bed. In other words…she dropped on him so hard, she re-opened some of his wounds. A low grunt came from Gaara as he tried his best not to scream out in pain.

And once again, Sakura had made a fool out of herself. She jumped up so fast; she nearly whacked her head on the wall behind her.

"I'm SO sorry!!" Sakura apologized, as she quickly, and skillfully began to heal his wounds again. Gaara was now lying down on the bed trying not to show how much pain he was feeling at that moment._At least I won't have to worry about him leaving now…_She thought as she tried to ignore the death glares he was giving her.

* * *

"WHERE IS HE?!" A loud voice screeched through the palace. The owner of the voice looked down as a servant began to run towards her. "He's on his way. I've just heard word from the-'' The servant never got to finish their sentence. 

A loud slap could be heard from miles around. The servant was thrown down from the force of the slap.

"Shut up! You told me that an hour ago!" She screeched once again.  
Her Kakashi-like silver hair swished about with every word she uttered while her cold blue eyes fell down onto her servant.

"B-but Chisame, I only w-wanted to…" The servant trailed off. Because there, standing off to the side, was the man they've been waiting for.

His dark hair covering his face as he slowly walked toward Chisame.

"You called?"

* * *

Sakura glanced over at Gaara's form. After she had nearly killed him, she healed him, and was now stealing looks at him.

It was dark out now, and most people were asleep.

She leaned against the wall she was standing next to and wiped her forehead with her hand. _I'm getting kind of tired…_ She thought as she slowly sat down on the cold tile floor.

She heard muffled talking coming from the direction of the bed Gaara was lying in.  
_  
Was that Gaara? I thought he was asleep… _"Gaara? Did you say something…?" Sakura asked leaning in a bit.

Gaara sat up slightly, "I said…Thank you." His jade eyes stared down at her for what seemed like hours.

Then went back into the same position when Sakura thought he was "sleeping".

If she wasn't leaning in so much. She would have missed what he said entirely. She didn't know whether to be happy or confused about it. But she did know one thing…she was _tired_.

And she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Ehehe...I wanted to update sooner but...school.**

Thank you people who reviewed!!  



	4. Hating Him

Death By Love

**anxiety**-[an-x-it-ty n.  
_1) A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties._

_2) A relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness occurring in a variety of mental disorders, usually accompanied by compulsive behavior or attacks of panic.  
_

**panic - **[pan-ik n, a, v, pn

_1)__A sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause, that produces hysterical or irrational behavior, and that often spreads quickly through a group of persons or animals.  
_

* * *

_  
__Sakura ran blindly through the forest, trying to get attention from someone…anyone.  
Something terrible happened, and she needed help…fast._

_"Help! Someone…help me…please!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs._

_She was slowly beginning to get tired. She dropped to the forest floor with a thud. Her eye sight began to get fuzzy, and she slowly began to loose consciousness._

_She looked down at her fingers and saw fresh and dried blood stuck onto them. Most of the blood wasn't hers._

I should have just….just stayed…away.  


* * *

Sakura awoke with a jump. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, and sweat ran down her forehead. She heaved in and out as she ran her eyes around the room.

_That's right…_She thought as she sat there, _I fell asleep on the ground…but what was up with that dream?_

She had never had such a vivid dream as that one before…it almost looked…real. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud beeping noise that would be her alarm clock. She got up and turned it off by smashing it against the wall, breaking it in two.

She then looked over to the guest bed…the bed which was supposed to be holding a future Kazekage. But instead…held nothing.

And for the second time that day, Sakura felt panic run through her system.

"Gaara..?" She called, hoping to hear an answer.

Silence. She looked into every room with not a trace that he had been in it. _I should have stayed ups!_ And _it's all my faults! _Ran through Sakura's head as she ran into the last room…the kitchen.

Now usually, when you walk into a kitchen, you expect to see…A clear empty sink. Polished cupboards. And, waxed floors. But what Sakura saw almost made her loose consciousness.

The sink….was full of mud.

The cupboards….had an unknown liquid dripping from them. The floors…had sand all over it.

''Oh my…" Sakura whispered as she clung to the nearest wall to keep her balance. _What happened in here?!? _Her mind screamed.

She then noticed the sand on the floor was arranged in a certain matter. Looking closely she realized that the sand was formed into some kind of message. Sakura slowly bent down and read the sand. It said:

Don't Try Looking For Me.

Sakura squeezed her hand into a fist.

_That's it! _She thought._ I save someone from dying and they…destroy my kitchen?! He probably only thanked me yesterday so I would put my guard down and give him time to escape!_

She began to clean the mess that was left and was so angry, she didn't notice that Ino hadn't stopped by her house before work, or how she was probably going to be late, or did she not notice droplets of blood leading from the kitchen to the door way…

* * *

When Sakura realized that yes, she _did_ have a job to go to. She bolted out of her house and made it to Konoha Hospital an hour late.

She quickly walked towards Tsunade's office and knocked on the door. Silence. She knocked on it a bit harder. Silence again. So Sakura did the only thing she could think of…make a scene.

"Tsunade-sama please open the door!! I'm so sorry I'm late! You don't have to ignore me like this!" She shouted as she banged and kicked the door to the office.

"Ahem." Said a voice behind her. She turned around to see no one other than her boss.

"First you come here an hour late, then you make a scene in a hospital." Tsunade said slowly. Her face unreadable. "Gomen." Sakura replied, quietly. Trying to avoid her bosses glare.

"I'm the one who taught you to become the ninja you are now, if you're running around late, and bringing attention to yourself, what would people think of me?" The blonde asked.

"Gomen." Sakura replied again.

"I've been really busy around the hospital…and so, I'm giving you a special job…" She trailed off.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, now interested. "I want you to monitor a special patient." Tsunade answered as she walked into her office.

"He collapsed on the street and was brought by Ino Yamanaka. He's been unconscious ever since. And I don't have time to stand over him and wait until he wakes up." Tsunade glanced over at Sakura.

"I understand."

"I trust you know who the patient is…?" Tsunade asked.

Now, Sakura had already made a fool of herself in front of her boss, and she didn't want to do it again. Even though she had no idea who her patient was, she nodded and said, "Which room is he in?"

"Room 157. You'll take care of him until he is able to walk out of this hospital." She handed Sakura the keys to the room, and sat back in her office chair to begin her paper work.

Sakura took the keys and exited the office.

_Wow. The 150's hallway? Only really rich or special people are in that hallway._ She thought to herself as she made her way down the wide hall.

When she reached the door, she fumbled with the keys a bit before pushing open the front door to see none other than Gaara in the hospital bed.

The door shut behind Sakura with a slam as she made her way over to her patient. She fought the urge to strangle him in his sleep as she glared at him.

_Now I have to take care of him…again?! _She thought angrily. _But...this could be a good thing…I mean. I'll be the one giving him needles…and taking his blood pressure…_

Sakura smirked.

She sat down beside his bed and looked him over.

He was hooked up to an IV machine, and to another machine which caused a constant beeping noise. (Note: I've got no idea what that's called.)

Then, something shiny caught Sakura's eye.

It reminded her of the necklace Naruto wore. Except this one was a greenish brown color and was oval shaped.

Sakura leaned in, putting a hand on the side of the bed to keep her balance. There was something written on it. She still couldn't see it properly so she reached out to grab it.

A pale hand grabbed a hold of Sakura's just before she could touch the necklace.

Gaara's eyes slowly opened and a look of annoyance crossed his face.

Sakura wasn't at all surprised that he would wake up. In a way, she kind of suspected that he would wake up anyway.

But what happened next, Sakura didn't suspect at all.

The door swung open to reveal an irritated Tsunade.

"Sakura, I forgot to give you…." She trailed off.

Sakura could understand what was probably going through Tsunade's head as she saw her in that position.

"Sakura…?" 

"T-Tsunade…" 

"Naruto!" Said a new voice that entered the room.

* * *

**Lol, that last part was kind of random.**

And...if you haven't noticied, I don't really know about the honorifics and so, sometimes, I don't even bother adding them in. 

Umm...I think that's it. I'll try to update soon.

Byebye!


	5. Her Confusion

**Death By Love******

violence - [vahy-uh-luhns n.  
_1) swift and intense force.  
2) rough of injurious physical force, action, or treatment_

**anger** - [ang-ger n, v.  
_1) __A strong feeling of displeasure and belligerence aroused by a wrong; wrath; ire.  
2) To arouse anger or wrath in. _

* * *

Sakura stared wide eyed at Tsunade as she as back down into the pearly white seat behind her. "Sakura…what were doing…?" She asked, looking suspiciously at her.

"I...I was -"

"GAARA!" Naruto interrupted, taking long strides to the hospital bed which Gaara was lying in.

"Now that I, Me, Uzumaki Naruto is here, you'll be fine!" He declared looking up into the ceiling of the room. "Evil Be Gone!" He yelled throwing ramen seasoning over Sakura's head.

"What are you doing?!?" She screeched, dusting the salt like solid off of her body.

"I'm trying to stop you from poisoning Gaara!" Naruto stated very matter-of-factly.Sakura didn't have time to reply, she looked over at Tsunade to see that she was waiting for her to explain herself. So she went up to talk to her boss.

"Tsunade, I was just looking at something shiny I saw in the bed." Sakura mumbled. She knew it sounded childish but…what else could she say?

Tsunade visibly sighed and looked Sakura straight in the eye. "I only came here to here to give you this." Tsunade said, waving a needle filled with a brown liquid. "Make sure he takes it, once every day."

"Alright." Sakura sighed._No more making a fool out of myself!_ She thought as she took the needle her boss handed her.

"Naruto, please exit the hospital." Tsunade said, "Visiting hours are over."

"Okay." Naruto replied. "Gaara, remember what I told you…If anything happens…use the ramen!" Naruto said into Gaara's ear.All the while, Gaara looked extremely irritated. The two blondes exited the hospital room soon after that.

Sakura took a deep breath in and made her way over to her patient. She sat down in the white seat all the while, glaring holes into Gaara's skull.

"Hold out your hand." Sakura said monotonously.He did what was told and Sakura injected the needle into one of his veins. She looked over at his face, hoping to see some kind of discomfort, or pain, or something. But his face was impassive as ever.

_And here I thought that I would some how get back at him for destroying my kitchen…_She thought to herself, _I should ask him about that._

He was staring up into the ceiling of the hospital with an odd look in his eye. It looked as if he was studying something very hard.

"Gaara?" Sakura said, trying to get his attention. If he was listening…he didn't show it. "Why did you try to leave the village when you're clearly not in the state to be traveling?"

There was silence for a few seconds, and then he mumbled in a muffled voice. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Sakura said, trying to get him to explain…he didn't. So she decided to ask him another question, one which bothered her a lot. "Why did you wreck my kitchen then?" 

"My sand got out of control." He said with no emotion.

_Some future Kazekage...he can't even control his own sand! _Sakura thought bitterly. 

Sakura spent the rest of the day asking him random questions. She couldn't just sit there in total silence like he could. Some of the questions she asked him were answered in two words, and the rest weren't answered at all.

It was like that until 6:00 rolled around and she began gathering her belongings to leave and go home.

Before walking out the room, she waved at Gaara and saying, "I'll see you tomorrow."

In response, he turned around backing her. She walked out of his room, and down the front steps of Konoha Hospital smiling to herself.

In a weird way, she had fun today. She didn't have to go through the stress of seeing multiple patients or doing the janitors' job. All she had to do was sit back, and take care of a certain future Kazekage.

While walking home, she spotted someone is orange clothing jumping around over the training field._Naruto…_She thought, as she walked over to the training fields to talk to him.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto said, running up to Sakura. He had dirt all over himself and one or two small cuts on his arms and legs.

"Hi Naruto." She said smiling. Seeing Naruto like that some how reminded her of Sasuke. He was always training so hard. Trying to be the best so he could avenge his clan. That was the only thing he thought about.

"Umm…Naruto." She started, "Don't you ever...think about Sasuke?"

She would never forget the look she saw on Naruto's face. A look that she never saw before. She couldn't quite place what emotion is was…sad…? Pained..? But she knew that she saw that emotion somewhere before.

Naruto kept his head down low for a moment, and then said, "No, I don't. And you shouldn't either." His voice sounded hollow and empty.

There was an uneasy silence after that.

"I-I better get going then." Sakura said quickly. And turned around and walked in the direction of her house.

She never saw Naruto act that way before. And the look he gave her when she first asked about Sasuke…the last time she remembered ever seeing that look was four years ago. It seemed as if everyone was giving her that look. A look that you give someone when you know something about them that they don't even about themselves. But the looks stopped, and Sakura completely forgot about them. Until Now.

She pushed all thoughts of Sasuke to the back of her head as she entered her house. She washed up and sat down in her sofa next to the phone and called her best friend, Ino.

The phone rung a couple of times and then was answered by a high pitched voice.

"Hello?"

"Hey Ino. It's me…Sakura."

"Oh, Hi Sakura…how was work today?"

"Work was actually fun today. I have to take care of Gaara until he gets out of the hospital. All I've done really is talked to him."

On the other line, Ino clenched her fists.

"Oh."

"Ino? Are you okay?" Sakura asked. Noticing the change in Ino's voice.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Kay?" Ino said, sounding cheerful again.

"Okay. Bye." Sakura said. Hanging up the phone.

Soon after, she drifted off to sleep on her sofa.

* * *

Ino angrily hung up the phone. _Not again…_ She thought franticly. _Why? All the time, every time!_

She was getting more upset by the second. In her anger, she happened to look up and see a picture of her and Sakura smiling at the beach.

Ino snatched the picture from off the dresser it was sitting on and glared at it. "This is all your fault…" She said to the picture, as if it could talk back. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She screamed as tears run down her face. She hurled the picture into a wall. The glass shattered. The frame broke into two. The picture was ruined.

Ino got up and looked at the violence she had done to the once beautiful picture. It was now ripped into two. On one side of the picture Ino, and on the other side, Sakura.

_How ironic…  
_

* * *

**There you go! Another chapter. I now know where this story is going. (Before I had no clue!)  
And a big THANK YOU for all people who reviewed!!   
Byebye! **


	6. His Past

  
Death By Love 

**regret** – [re-gret v, n  
_1)__ A sense of loss and longing for someone or something gone.  
2) A feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different._

**forgotten** – [fer-got n v.  
_1) to cease or fail to remember; be unable to recall.  
2) Fail to mention, to banish from one's thoughts, to leave behind unintentionally.  
_

* * *

_She was walking home. The cold wind blew past her, causing her pink hair to fly in different directions._

_She had just come back from a mission and was completely drained of chakra. It was amazing that she could still walk._

_She was almost home, so she quickened her pace._

_Then, a hand grabbed her from behind. One hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, and another hand around her waist, pulling her back._

_Sakura tried to scream, but couldn't. And because she was so tired, it would be a challenge to get away from him._

_He was pulling her back now. Probably taking her into the forest to kill her. She managed to let out a coughed scream for help._

_Suddenly, the grip her attacker had on her loosened._

_Sakura looked back to see her attacker dead on the ground. She looked up to see who had saved her._

_It was…  
_

* * *

Sakura woke up with a jump and held her head in pain. She hadn't had that dream in a long time, and when she did, she always woke up with a terrible head ache. She never got to see the person who had saved her in the dream either. 

She got up slowly and went to take a shower and get something to eat. Then, sat on the sofa in the living room to take a look outside. Today was bright and sunny. There was a group of children playing catch outside, the five children stood in a circle and threw an orange ball to each other. Sakura then noticed a small boy, sitting far away from the children watching them play. He looked sad and lonely.

Someone threw the ball to hard, and it landed right in front of the boy. A girl with brown spiky hair went to retrieve it. The boy held up the ball and it looked like he was asking the girl something. The girl snatched the ball back and yelled something, and went off to play with the other children.

The boys' face twisted in an emotion Sakura couldn't quite place. She then saw him slowly walk away with his head down.

Sakura felt a deep pain in her heart watching the boy walk away with his head down. The small boy reminded her of Gaara.

_Was this how he was treated as a child? _She thought as she grabbed her shoes and ran outside.

Naruto had told her of Gaara's past. She thought that was terrible. How could anyone treat a child that way?

When she finally caught up with the boy, he was sitting in an alley like place with his head down. She approached him slowly and took in his appearance. His clothes were torn, dirty and ragged. His shoes were broken up and worn out. He looked as dirty as the alley he was sitting in.

She sat opposite of the small boy and tapped his shoulder. He looked up in surprise. She could now see his tear stained cheeks and bright green eyes.

"Hi!" Sakura said as cheerfully as she could.

The boy just stared at her for a minute, and then said, "What do you want?"

"I saw how those children treated you…I just wanted-''

"They're always like that." The boy interrupted. "I never get to play with them…because…because of this." He held out his hand and she could see what was wrong. He had an extra finger between his index finger and his thumb. It was something so small…she would have never thought he was getting excluded for something like that. "The other kids call me a freak." He said looking down. "I don't have any friends…"

"I'll be your friend then." Sakura said, trying to keep smiling. She remembered herself when she was small, and how the other children made fun of her because of her big forehead.

The boy looked skeptical for a moment. Then gave a small smile.

Sakura then walked around town with the boy. He told her his name, which was Mareo meaning rare and uncommon. He told her about his father who had died and his mother who worked hard to support him. He told her about everything. Sakura wished Gaara would open up to her like Mareo did.

When 12:00 rolled around. Sakura told Mareo that she had to go to work now. He looked disappointed, but understood. He had said that she was his very first friend.

Sakura felt like she accomplished something today. As she walked up the front stairs of Konoha Hospital. She had been taking care of Gaara for over a two weeks now.

Every day was like a routine now. She would first go to Tsunade for his medicine, then try to get him to talk to her until she had to go. Most of the time, she tried to talk to him. She would get rewarded with a death glare.

She had really started to like Gaara. But she knew he would probably never feel the same way she did.

She entered Tsunade's office to find that she wasn't in there. Now normally, she wouldn't do this, but decided that she would go through Tsunade's stuff. First, she opened the desk to find a stash of sake. Then she opened another part of the desk to see a large looking document.

The document held all the deaths and sick people who have ever been in this hospital.

She skimmed through it. Looking at all the people in the hospital first.

Chiori Matsuragi – Fractured Leg. Stayed in hospital for 1 week. Recovered.

Yuki Itama – Blood loss. Kept in the hospital for 2 weeks. Recovered.

Hinata Hyuga – Passed out. Kept in hospital over night. Recovered.

Sakura smiled when she read that. _She probably saw Naruto…_

Naruto was listed a lot of times for different reasons. Most of the times was over working himself.

Sakura was surprised when she stumbled across her name.

Sakura Haruno – This information will be with held from this document. Cause? Severe Trauma. Recovered ???

Sakura stared down at the file she held in her hands in disbelief. _Severe trauma? I don't remember ever being in the hospital for that. _She wondered about the question mark beside recovered. This document was updated every day, would that mean that…she was still…still…

Sakura felt like she was going to lose it. She flipped the book to the death section and began to skim through. She had a feeling that she would see something. What? She didn't know.

She began reading the names out loud.

"Fujita Hurai, Sakina Umachi, Kaede Saiu,-'' Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a name that looked familiar. Before she could read it, the document was snatched out of Sakura's hands.

Tsunade stood behind Sakura with the document in her hands. "Sakura, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry Tsunade…" She started. "It's just that…I saw the document and-''

"Never read this document. The only person who should be reading this…is me."

She decided not to tell her boss about her name in the document. But she really wanted to get her hands on it again, and read that name she didn't get a good look at.

Tsunade handed Sakura Gaara's medicine. And Sakura left the office in a hurry.

She didn't know why but she felt like Tsunade was hiding something from her. She remembered a time when she was asked to go on a mission...

_Sakura stepped into the office and waited to know about the mission she was going to take._

_"Sakura, remember when the snow country attacked the part of the village?" Sakura shook her head and said, "When did this happen? I don't remember that."_

_She had never seen Tsunade so horrified. She quickly covered her mouth and said, "Never mind. Forget I ever brought it up. I'll get Ino to take the mission."_

Sakura walked down the hallway and opened the white door, and stepped into the room. To see Gaara eyeing her as she sat down on the white chair next to his bed. He already had his hand held out in the position so she could give him the needle.

After she did. She glanced at the brown necklace that hung around Gaara's neck. She had been wanting to ask him about that ever since the first time he had come here.

"Gaara…you'll be leaving the hospital soon…you're healing faster than I suspected." "How long do I have?" He asked, actually interested in what she had to say.

"About…two or three days." She said. Looking at the necklace again. After listening to Mareo open up about himself. She hoped Gaara would too.

"Umm...Gaara, what does your necklace mean?" She asked, hoping he'd tell her.

* * *

**Yes I know, a slight cliff hanger..I'm sorry!  
From this point on, the story will move a little...fast. Everything will come into place and all your questions would be answered. And in case you haven't realized it yet, it is NOT going to have a happy ending.  
I think i'm getting better at making longer chapters! A little...  
Bye!**


	7. Her Sanity

**jealousy** – jell-uh-see n,p  
_1) __Jealous resentment against a rival, a person enjoying success or advantage, etc., or against another's success or advantage itself.  
2) Mental uneasiness from suspicion or fear of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims._

**hate** – heyt v, n.  
_1) to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest.  
2) Intense dislike; extreme aversion or hostility._

* * *

"Umm...Gaara, what does your necklace mean?" She asked, hoping he'd tell her.

He twitched slightly, sitting up. Looked at her for a few seconds, then said, "That's none of your business…"

Sakura looked down disappointed. She really thought that maybe…he would trust her enough to tell her what it meant. "Fine. I really thought you trusted me by now." She mumbled.

Gaara focused his gaze on the side of the hospital bed. "Yashamaru gave it to me…" he said slowly.

Sakura looked up.

"I lived with my father and Yashamaru came to visit me a lot, I used to think of him as my only friend…then, he gave me his necklace. He told me that the necklace showed how much he…cared for me. How much he loved me. But then…my father started sending people to kill me. He thought I was useless. And there was no point in me living anymore…''

_ "Yashamaru!" Gaara squealed as he ran towards his friend. Yashamaru smiled down at Gaara, but then his face expression changed in to one of horror._

_Gaara felt himself being pushed out of the way and something graze his face slightly. He looked up to see Yashamaru holding his stomach, and coughing up blood as held his stomach in pain._

"From that point on, I was independent, and found no use for friends. **That** is what this necklace represents."

Sakura stared at Gaara for a moment. For once…she didn't know what to say. She realized just how painful his past was.

Before Sakura could think about what she was doing or even stop what she was doing, she leaned across the hospital bed and held him in a small hug.

Three things happened all at the same time after this.

Gaara stiffened against Sakura but didn't pull away.

Sakura realized what she was doing was completely uncalled for and began to release the hold she had on him.

And the door opened and Ino stood frozen in the doorway.

Sakura jumped back as fast as she could. "Hey Ino." She said trying to sound casual.

Ino didn't move or reply. Instead, she glared at Sakura and closed the door behind her.

"Why do you continue to do this?" Ino asked in a raspy voice.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, confused. She didn't understand her friends' odd behavior.

Next thing Sakura knew Ino was standing about 2 inches away from her. She looked completely insane. Her eyes were wild and she was shaking as if the floor was vibrating.

"Why can't you remember!? Im sick of this acting, sick of this pretending! WHY WON'T YOU REMEMBER?!" Ino screamed. Her words were slurred and sounded rehearsed.

Sakura jumped back, afraid. "W-What are you talking about?" She asked, stumbling on her words. She had never seen her friend act this way before.

"It's your fault!" Ino roared. "It's your fault he's gone! You should have died! But no…he saved you! I knew it was going to happen…I KNEW it! But It was already too late…He was already-"

"That would be enough!"

Tsunade stood close to the entrance and took in the situation. Ino was suddenly normal again. Any trace of her crazy behavior was gone.

Sakura however was pressed against the wall. She seemed to be in space. Looking at what seems like nothing. It was as if she was in her own world.

"Ino, I want you to meet me in my office immediately." Tsuande said never looking away from Sakura.

Tsunade stepped toward Sakura then said, "I want you to have a week off. Forget anything Ino had said to you. She is simply under a lot of stress."

Sakura snapped back into reality and nodded. Then walked right out of the building. She didn't even stop to say bye to Gaara as she always did. She was confused, scared and empty.

What Ino had said to her had to have some truth in it. The Ino she knew wouldn't start belting out random words. But then again, she wondered if she ever truly knew Ino.

As soon as she walked into her house, Sakura jumped into the shower. She tried to forget everything her "friend" had told her. But it bothered her, and at the same time seemed familiar.

Deep down in her heart…Sakura knew she was missing something. A big part of her life was forgotten, and she had to find it. Everyone around her seemed to be protecting her from the truth…something she desperately needed to know. And the only person who was willing to tell her the truth was nuts.

She climbed out of the shower and sat in bed. She couldn't get what happened this evening out of her head. She looked over at her clock.

8:14 PM blinked on and off.

She rolled over in bed and lay down facing the wall. Sleep wasn't coming easy tonight. She faced up and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling had a unique design she never quite noticed before. It looked like a spiral that never stopped. She stared at the design with out blinking for a while.

The design began to blur and change. It swirled into a different picture all together. It was suddenly a forest. The sky was a clear blue and the trees seemed to reach higher than any building she had ever seen. The scene then changed, and the forest got very dark. The once beautiful scene was full of fear and mystery.

It was then that she saw it...a person laying down on the forest floor, covered in blood. The person was…herself. Sakura tried to blink, tried to move her eyes away from the spiral…from the scene...from her fate. But she couldn't. She screamed.

Sakura fell out of the bed with a thud. Never had she hallucinated like that before. She knew…she was going crazy. She glanced at her clock again. It was 11:30 PM. Had she been staring up at her ceiling for 3 hours?

Maybe she really was losing it. She was afraid to look up at the ceiling again. What she saw looked so real…

That was it! She needed to know what happened to her 4 years ago. She couldn't even walk around her own house without acting a bit odd now. She snatched the clothes closest to her and stepped out the door. She headed to the place that hopefully held some kind of answer…Konoha Hospital.

She remembered that file she had accidentally read a few weeks ago. Maybe she would find something there. She walked up the steps and tried to open the front door. It was locked.

Sakura pulled out her card and scanned it over the scanner and the door opened with a click. She forgot about the front doors being locked at night.

She pushed her body against the wall and tried to make herself look as small as possible. If any of the night staff saw her, she knew she would have some explaining to do. Tsunade probably told them all about the incident.

She reached Tsunade's office with no trouble. She took out her card and scanned it. It made a loud BEEP kind of noise. Then the door opened loudly. She jumped into the room as fast as she could and locked it behind her. She was glad she had special privileges and her card let her in any room in the hospital.

She walked over to her desk and was surprised to see the file laid out right in front of her. She scanned through it again, skipping her name this time and others she had seen before. She went straight to the death section and began reading again. "Shochia Jing, Sakina Lagska" Sakura stopped. She couldn't believe what was there. Sasuke Uchia was listed under dead.

This has to be a mistake she thought…there's no way…she dropped the file. And as she did, she noticed another file…one that didn't stand out at all. Sakura reached for it and opened it to the first page.

** SAKURA HARUNO: DAILY OBSERVATION **

**It seems she has completely forgotten about the whole ordeal. This is good. There are some things in life that are meant to be forgotten.**

**Tsunade.  
**  
Sakura was shocked. She skipped to the last page.

**Slowly, she is beginning to figure out she has been missing out on something. It doesn't help that Ino will not participate in helping Sakura. It seems I will have to get someone to look within her mind.**

**Tsunade. **

Sakura was shaking. Shaking so hard her teeth were clattering. She wasn't actually working at the hospital...she was being checked up on. She was being watched. It was proved. Tsunade knew something she didn't.

Suddenly, the chair at the front desk turned around violently to reveal Sakuras' former friend…Ino.

Her eyes were bloodshot and she had the most poisonous look on her face.

"Hello Sakura…I've been waiting for you. Do you finally want to know the truth?"

* * *

** Sorry about my REALLY late update. This story is almost finished now. I've decided to make an alternative ending to this story as well. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Next one will hopefully be up soon.**


	8. Her Rage

**amnesia – **[am-nee-zh_uh_]n.  
_1) loss of a large block of interrelated memories; complete or partial loss of memory caused by brain injury, shock, etc._

**self pity** – [self-pit-ee] n.  
_1) pity for oneself, esp. a self-indulgent attitude concerning one's own difficulties, hardships, etc_

* * *

Sakura froze. She took a deep breath and focused on the unstable person in front of her. "Tell me everything you know."

* * *

Chisame, ruler of the Snow country sat on her throne studying the wispy clouds outside of her window.

She dark eyes closed as she thought to herself. She knew she was running out of time. And it didn't help that all the people around her were complete idiots. They didn't understand how crucial the timing had to be to accomplish their goal. They didn't understand that when she told them to kill someone…it meant she wanted them dead!

She gritted her teeth and turned to face her failure of a brother. He was leaning against a wall with his hair covering half of his face…as always.

"Is he dead yet?" She asked slowly. Trying to contain her emotions.

"He is being taken care of in Konoha hospital. Where he is surrounded by the Hokage herself along with the most skilled there.

Chisame twitched. "He wouldn't even have been in the hospital if you had done the job right the first time." She walked slowly towards him. "Do you realize how far you have set us back?"

"Yes…I have realized what I have done." He replied.

"So fix it. As soon as he's out of that hospital. Trail him and wait until he is vulnerable. Without Shukaku he doesn't have half the power he used to posses. Take that to your advantage…and finish him."

"I am aware of the plan." He said coolly. Because of one screw up, she was explaining everything to him over and over like he was child.  
Chisame turned her back to him again. "It took us four years to recover from our attack on Konoha. I will not miss out on this opportunity!"

Chisame's rage bubbled up inside her once more. She then turned her attention to the window once more. Watching the clouds seemed to be the only thing to keep her at peace.

_It's only a matter of time…_

* * *

Ino smirked. "Before I say anything…I can't have any interruptions. Can I?" She asked as she stumbled over to the door and locked it with a 'click'.

Sakura knew she was asking for it. She was allowing herself to be locked in a room with someone who belonged in a sponge room. Sakura pushed herself against the wall as Ino stumbled back to the chair behind the desk.

"You stole him from me." Ino said dryly. Sakura was puzzled. "No I didn't In-"

"How about you shut up and let me talk?" Saliva dribbled down her chin as she talked.

"Me and Sasuke…we were engaged. Everything was perfect. You helped me plan the wedding. I was so happy…" Ino's eyes closed and smiled. It was as if she were re-living the emotions her story held.

Her smiled turned deadly. Her face was back into the poisonous glare once again. "But before we could wed…you took him. He left me saying you've shown him the real reason to live. I've hated you ever since."

Sakura stood staring at Ino. She couldn't see a reason why Ino would lie, but her and Sasuke? It just couldn't be possible.

She chose to keep silent and Ino ranted. Instead, She calculated strategies to escape the room that was locked on both the inside and outside. If she interrupted again she might send her on a rampage.

Ino sat up slightly and rested one hand on the mahogany desk and covered up half the room.

"We were in a war with the Snow country. You had come back from a mission. You were watching to see when they would attack. You were drained of chakra…when you were attacked from behind."

Sakura's eyes widened while hearing this. Ino wasn't lying…her subconscious had re-created this same story with dreams.

"He saved you…you were supposed to die right there…BUT HE SAVED YOU!" She screamed. Now jumping out of her seat. The chair fell violently to her feet. "He wasn't any better than you. He was drained as well…and he died. Right in front of you."

Sakura's vision blurred. She leaned against a wall to keep her balance. "Stop." Was all she could utter. It was a weak cry for help.

She wasn't ready to know this. Her head was flooding with memories. She saw Sasuke's mangled body in front of her. She saw people running down the streets and pulling her away.

"You lost it. You were admitted to a mental hospital right afterwards. I mean…it was like you were already dead…just lying there." She said walking closer to Sakura as she said it.

Sakura attempted to run. But found her feet useless and fell to the ground. "My head…please…no."

Ino smiled. "You were a lot like you are now. We implanted fake memories of Sasuke leaving the village to get you to respond again…and it worked. I was asked to act like nothing ever happened. But we all know it was your fault he's dead."

Sakura's heart throbbed and made a failing attempt to drag herself to the door.

"I'm not letting you live this time Sakura. I will never forgive you for what you took away from me." Ino's eyes were crazed as she took out her kunai.

"You're going to suffer like I did for years!" She screeched, shivering with excitement.

All Sakura could do was look at Ino pleadingly. Her vision darkened. She was slowly passing out.

The last thing she saw was Ino pouncing towards her with the intent to kill but the last thing she heard was the sound of a door wildly opening.

She felt the breeze of the opened door and lay there…ready for what was coming.

* * *

**Because this chapter was soo late…A SNEAK PREVIEW ! =D  
**

Gaara leaned down and peered into the metal cage she was locked up in.

She had chains tying her to the wall, her clothes were tattered and torn and she had a mixture of grease and dirt over her skin. Despite all of this, she grinned.

He sighed and crouched down. "You're pathetic." He stated. Eyeing her down.

"The only one pathetic here is you. You don't even see your own death coming! If you want to live…go alone. Once you bring a curse with you…it will catch up on you." Her voice was scratchy and sounded strained.

"I'm sorry I ever let you save me."

* * *

** Hahaha . So, who do you think the girl in the next chapter is ? [ Think twice ! ]  
Comments are appreciated ! I'm not too sure about this chapter...and i'll say it again...  
SORRY FOR THE LATENESS ! Bye. x]**


	9. Her Memories

"What a mess." Tsunade mumbled. She and Kurenai hung over Sakura who was sprawled out on a hospital bed.

"I _knew _this would happen, some things in the past just won't stay in the past for some people." She continued.

Kurenai walked towards the door, making sure it was locked. She then turned, facing the Hokage once more.

"I never wanted to do this to her in the first place!" She exclaimed.

"Erasing memories always hold a consequence, nightmares; re-living traumatic experiences…even hallucinations! We've put her through enough." The thought of seeing Sakura put in anymore pain was just unbearable to think of.

Tsunade could feel the irritation in her rising. "She was_ fine._ She was living the perfect life without the slightest memory of what happened back then. Something in her life right now is triggering her memories, that, and Ino isn't helping either."

Kurenai took a few steps toward the unconscious Sakura. "Ino said she would be the true friend she was and help her…I guess that didn't go as planned. Once Sakura is stable, I'll have to erase everything she's found out about her past once more."

Tsunade relaxed a bit, "Good, and don't worry about Ino. After I found out about her attack on Sakura, I've put her somewhere where she can do no harm to _anyone_."

* * *

Gaara took long strides away from Konoha Hospital. He had to get as far away from here as possible. The whole reason he came here in the first place was to ask for assistance.

He knew something was wrong, very wrong. He couldn't tell how but he could almost feel as if eyes were watching him all the time.

The word had probably spread that he would soon be the Kazekage of the Sand, but upon reaching the Leaf, he was attacked?

The strange thing was he could barely remember how it all went down. The only possible motive he could think of was to get rid of any protector of the Sand, and without protection…an army of anyone skilled enough could bring it down to nothing.

The thought of Sakura reached his mind. A faint smile crossed his lips, but was soon hidden when he remembered where she was at this very moment.

He heard the commotion from his room in the hospital. Loud screeching and all. By the time he got up to look for himself, night guards restrained Ino and was escorting her out of the hospital while Sakura was passed out on the floor.

He, himself was escorted away before finding out what truly went happened. He couldn't place as to why, but felt worried for her. He honestly felt the need to stay by her side a bit longer, but had bigger problems on his back.

While passing by a few buildings, getting near the outer edge of Konoha he heard a few people talking amongst themselves.

"She's crazy!" A middle aged woman said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I heard after she tried to murder that poor Sakura girl, they threw her in a mental institution."

The older man she was talking to scrunched up his face in confusion, "You couldn't possibly be talking about Ino Yamanaka. If anyone, Sakura's the crazy one! You know as well as I do how she broke down way back in…." He trailed off.

Gaara paused after eavesdropping. Ino…in a mental hospital? The curiosity inside of him stirred. He knew making it to the sand was priority, but something in him felt like he needed to know what happened…for Sakura's sake.

Although she was extremely annoying, she had grown on him a bit. After this, he promised himself it was back to his own village for him.

* * *

Sakura was awake. She felt drained of all energy existing inside of her, but was very well alert otherwise. She tried to look around the room, but everything was such a blur.

Where was she? How did she get here?

She tried to think up an answer but her mind was blank.

She tried to somehow move her arms or even call for someone…but all she could do was whimper.

She did however; hear distinct footsteps coming towards her. A soft hand was placed on her forehead.

Sakura squinted, but couldn't get out who the person was.

"I don't want to do this to you…which is why I need you to listen to what I have to say."

* * *

**I apologize for not updating this story for more than a year. I`m back, and I will finish this! Along with the others I have on this site. Check out my newest Gaara/Hinata fic "Turned To Stone" Thought i`d try something new. I`ll update as soon as possible. **

**By the way, the preview I had on the last chapter has been set back for chapter 10 instead of this one.**

**Dynamite **


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